Agroforestry in shifting cultivation control programmes in India

About 7000 B.C., according to the archaeological evidence (Childe 1956) mankind began to change its mode of life from food gathering to food cultivation, by adopting shifting cultivation which is, historically, a transitional stage towards more permanent agriculture. As the years passed, the peoples living in river valleys advanced rapidly and brought about a number of institutional and technological changes; but meanwhile some of the people living in remote areas continued in the blind alley of shifting cultivation and failed to take part in the progress towards culture and civilization. However, in the development of a country all sections of society need to be involved, including the backward shifting cultivators, all are equally entitled to the benefits of civilization and development. For these reasons programmes for the control of shifting cultivation have become important, particularly in tropical countries, and agro-forestry has played a pivotal role in these programmes. (author)